"Passion"
Chapter 2 – The parents
Lilly and Scotty walk up to the door of a beautiful mansion in the suburbs of Philadelphia. They ring the doorbell and wait.
Scotty: It seems like the Hayes are loaded.
Lilly (nods): The father is a successful surgeon, and the co-founder of one of Philly's most famous private hospitals.
Scotty (still admiring the house): I should've gone to Med school.
A woman opens the door. She looks to be in her mid-50's.
Lilly (shows her badge): Detectives Rush and Valens, homicide. We're looking at Karen Hayes' homicide, and we'd like to talk to her parents.
Woman (surprised): I'm Karen's mother, Vivian. Please come in.
(Vivian lets Lilly and Scotty in. She points them to the living room and calls out to her husband, who comes quickly. They all sit down)
Vivian (to Lilly and Scotty) : This is my husband George. (to George) Honey, those detectives are looking into Karen's murder.
George (to Lilly and Scotty): You're finally giving attention to my daughter's tragedy. Well, better late than never.
Lilly: You felt the police didn't work hard in 1997?
Vivian: Karen's boyfriend, Christopher, is the son of a judge. George felt that Judge Edwards made an effort to have the case closed, to avoid any bad comments regarding his family.
(Lilly and Scotty exchange a look. Both know what the other is thinking. Their two main suspects are an ADA and a Judge's son. This case was going to be tough).
Lilly: What can you tell us about Karen? Was anything unusual going on with her?
George (bitterly): Everything was as it always was. Karen was wasting her life with that stupid politics and that stupid paper.
Vivian (puts her hand on George's shoulder): George always wanted Karen to go to Med school. Follow his footsteps.
Scotty: What about Karen's love life? Was she in any trouble with Christopher?
Vivian (smiling): Not, not at all. Christopher is a wonderful man. A week before Karen was murdered, he even told us he was going to propose to Karen on Valentine's Day.
Lilly: Did her ever tell you if he actually proposed?
Vivian (shakes her head): He never said anything, and we felt that asking would make him feel worse about the loss he just have had.
Scotty: Mr. Hayes, did you ever try to get Karen to change her major in college?
George: Of course. I never gave up on trying to put some reason in her head.
Flashback to 1997
(The Hayes are having dinner together at home).
Karen (happily): Our paper has just been nominated to an award given to college papers. If we win, our articles could be re-printed in papers across the country.
Vivian: Honey, this is wonderful. It sure will help you getting a job when you leave college.
Karen: The most important thing is that everyone will read about the atrocities that Philadelphia City College commits in its research labs against those poor animals.
George: Those animals are used in the development of new drugs and surgery techniques that might save thousands of people in the future. But you don't even care about your parents, and less about sick strangers.
Karen: Dad, I know how much you wanted me to be a surgeon like you, but Journalism and Politics is what I love, what gives meaning to my life.
George: I worry about you, Karen. When you and your friends write those articles, you mess with powerful people.
Karen (annoyed): Please, Dad, don't go there. It's enough having Christopher giving me that speech all the time.
Vivian: Your boyfriend is a well-related man. His father is a judge and he knows how things work.
Karen: Christopher only thinks about himself, his main worry is keeping his social status. I see the bigger picture. I want to make a difference in this world.
George: If making a difference is so important, why don't you give Medicine a try? Think about all the people you could help, all the lives you could save.
Karen (smiles, shakes her head): Dad, please, give up. Journalism is my true call.
Back to 2005
George: All my efforts were worthless. She kept that insane fight against everything, and look how she ended.
Scotty: You believe your daughter's political activities got her killed?
George: What else could be? She had a family, a boyfriend and many friends who loved her.
Lilly: Maybe there was something else going on. Something she didn't share with you.
Vivian: I doubt it. Those causes were her life. There wasn't much else going on.
George: You know, it pains me to revive that awful episode. So, I ask you, please, find my daughter's killer this time.
Scotty: We will, Mr. Hayes.
(Lilly and Scotty get up from the couch).
Lilly: Thanks for your time. We'll keep in touch.
(Outside the house, Lilly and Scotty are walking back to the car).
Scotty (shakes his head): Parents didn't do it.
Lilly: The father seemed really emotional about Karen's career choices.
Scotty: Yeah, but he was respecting her choice.
Lilly: So it seems, but we'd better hear what Karen's friends can tell us on that aspect.
(They arrive at the car. They get in and leave. Scotty's driving)
Scotty: Vera and Jeffries are talking to the roommate right now.
Lilly: Let's go back to the office, wait to see what they got.
Scotty: It's past 7 p.m., Lil. Maybe we should leave it for tomorrow.
Lilly (annoyed, looking out the window): Well, I still have some paperwork to do. Drop me off at the office and go home if you wish.
Scotty looked at Lilly. Suddenly, he started to realize what this coldness was all about. The rest of the drive back to the Police Headquarters was quiet. Lilly didn't say anything else, so Scotty concentrated on driving, while feeling guilty for having set up a date with Christina later that night.
To be continued